March 6th 2023
Pembrolizumab also appears to garner modest anti-tumor activity regardless of PD-L1 expression in patients with advanced thyroid cancer.
Chemotherapy Drug Stops Cancer Growth in Advanced Thyroid Cancer Patients
December 1st 2006Bortezomib (Velcade) stops cancer growth in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer who do not respond to the standard treatment of surgery and radioactive iodine, according to a recent study presented at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Phoenix.
Commentary (Mazzaferri): Identification and Treatment of Aggressive Thyroid Cancers
April 1st 2006Most thyroid cancers are slow-growing, easily treatable tumors with an excellent prognosis after surgical resection and targeted medical therapy. Unfortunately, 10% to 15% of thyroid cancers exhibit aggressive behavior and do not follow an indolent course. Approximately one-third of patients with differentiated thyroid cancers will have tumor recurrences. Distant metastases are present in about 20% of patients with recurrent cancer.
Identification and Treatment of Aggressive Thyroid Cancers (Part 2)
April 1st 2006In part 2, we address risk assessment and staging, findings that suggest the presence of aggressive tumors, recurrent/metastatic disease, and treatment with chemotherapy and external-beam radiotherapy. Experimental treatments utilizing molecular targets, redifferentiation agents, and gene therapy are covered briefly as well.
FDA Grants Fast-Track Designation to ZD6474 for Thyroid Cancer
March 1st 2006The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast-track designation for the investigation of ZD6474 (Zactima) in treating medullary thyroid carcinoma. For advanced thyroid cancer, there is currently no curative modality or approved chemotherapy. ZD6474 also received orphan drug designation last year for the treatment of patients with follicular, medullary, anaplastic, and locally advanced and metastatic papillary thyroid cancer.
Integrated PET-CT: Evidence-Based Review of Oncology Indications
April 1st 2005Combined-modality positronemissiontomography (PET)–computed tomography (CT) isbecoming the imaging method ofchoice for an increasing number ofoncology indications. The goal of thispaper is to review the evidence-basedliterature justifying PET-CT fusion.The best evidence comes from prospectivestudies of integrated PETCTscans compared to other methodsof acquiring images, with histopathologicconfirmation of disease presenceor absence. Unfortunately, veryfew studies provide this kind of data.Retrospective studies with similarcomparisons can be used to provideevidence favoring the use of integratedPET-CT scans in specific clinicalsituations. Also, inferential conclusionscan be drawn from studies whereclinical rather than pathologic dataare used to establish disease presenceor absence.
Medicare to Add PET Coverage for Some Thyroid Cancer Patients
August 1st 2003Medicare will grant limited coverage for the use of positronemissiontomography (PET) for certain of its beneficiariessuffering from thyroid cancer, the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services (CMS) recently announced. CMS also said that ithad refused a request to provide PET coverage for soft-tissue sarcomabecause imaging techniques currently covered by Medicare providegood diagnostic results.
Metastatic Thyroid Cancer Responds to Thalidomide Therapy
February 1st 2003NEW YORK-An ongoing trial of thalidomide (Thalomid) in patients with aggressive, advanced papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas produced an early response rate of 76%, according to a report presented at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XX.
Medicare Puts PET for Thyroid Cancer, Soft-Tissue Sarcoma on Hold
October 1st 2002An advisory group to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed a decision on whether to recommend Medicare coverage for positron-emission tomography (PET) with F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in the
Medicare Puts PET for Thyroid Cancer, Soft Tissue Sarcoma on Hold
September 1st 2002WASHINGTON-An advisory group to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed a decision on whether to recommend Med-icare coverage for positron emission tomography (PET) with the radiopharmaceutical F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in the management of thyroid cancer and soft tissue sarcoma.
Hanford I-131 Releases Did Not Increase Thyroid Cancer Risk
August 1st 2002WASHINGTON-Scientists have concluded that no increased risk of thyroid disease, including cancer, befell children exposed to Iodine-131 released from the Hanford Nuclear Weapons Production Facility in Washington State. According to
Current Approaches to the Treatment of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
March 1st 2002The increasing frequency of diagnosis and death of patients with follicular cell-derived carcinoma of the thyroid substantiates the need for a broad understanding of the optimal diagnostic and treatment strategies for this disease. Dr. Angelos has provided a good overview of the treatment modalities and approaches to follow-up for these patients. However, several points require additional emphasis or detail.
Current Approaches to the Treatment of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
March 1st 2002The management of well-differentiated thyroid cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach. The majority of patients are diagnosed only after a nodule is palpable. A cytologic evaluation can readily diagnose a papillary thyroid carcinoma but a follicular carcinoma requires determination of capsular or vascular invasion.
Current Approaches to the Treatment of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
March 1st 2002Well-differentiated thyroid cancer is something of an anomaly in the field of oncology for two primary reasons. First, the team of physicians who manage the patient consists primarily of endocrinologists, endocrine surgeons, and nuclear medicine physicians instead of medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and radiation oncologists. Second, there is an extremely high rate of cure with remarkable 10- and 20-year survival rates due to the indolent nature of the tumor, even in the setting of lymph node metastases.
FDG-PET Detects Thyroid Cancer Better Than Conventional Imaging
December 1st 2001Fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) detected recurrent cancer 50% more often than did conventional imaging in people with thyroid cancer who had indications that their cancer had recurred, according to results of
Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma: Risk Group Assignment and Management Controversies
In this review, we provide a framework for clinical decision-making in the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer. The clinical discussion and treatment recommendations are relevant to an adult population (more than 16
FNA Identifies Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Cancer
October 1st 1997SAN FRANCISCO-Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) may offer clinicians a partial solution to the problem of identifying follicular variants of papillary thyroid cancers, Larry Shemen, MD, said at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. The traditional method of identifying follicular lesions, frozen section analysis, is often inconclusive, he noted. With the frozen section technique, the hallmark of this cancer-capsular or vascular invasion-may not be seen in the particular field studied, producing a false-negative result.
Thyroid Cancer Surgical Practice Guidelines
August 1st 1997The Society of Surgical Oncology surgical practice guidelines focus on the signs and symptoms of primary cancer, timely evaluation of the symptomatic patient, appropriate preoperative evaluation for extent of disease, and role of the surgeon in
Neck Check Exam Aims at Early Detection
March 1st 1997NEW YORK--Thyroid cancer is diagnosed in an estimated 15,600 Americans every year. As with many cancers, early detection is the key to effective treatment. Yet because thyroid cancer is asymptomatic, an enlarged thyroid or nodule on the gland is often the only sign that a malignancy is present.
Endocrinologists Issue Clinical Guidelines for Thyroid Cancer
March 1st 1997NEW YORK--Cancer of the thyroid, a highly treatable disease, is often overlooked in its earliest stages and, once diagnosed, may be treated too aggressively. In an effort to address these issues and to standardize treatment, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has published new guidelines for the management of thyroid carcinoma.
Thyroid Cancer Funds Go to New Jersey Center
September 1st 1995NEWARK, NJ--The Garden State Cancer Center has received a research grant of $605,000 from the FDA to develop a new treatment for medullary thyroid carcinoma. "The new therapy is based upon antibodies we have developed that target this cancer very selectively," said Dr. Malik Juweid, director of nuclear medicine and principal investigator on the grant.